For many of the children this was their first taste of competitive rugby against other clubs, for others it was a chance to put into practice all that they had learned over the last couple of seasons. The day started for Pulborough 1 with an early introduction to tournament rugby and a high tempo match against a fired up Gosport & Fareham. It was a close contest but some amazing play and great support work meant we just sneaked it 10 tries to 9. Tom Martin contributed an incredible 5 of our tries with Marcus Mansfield bagging 3. Ted Jerges and Harvey-Ray Catton-Strugnell each clinched one in what was a real nail biter to the end - not least due to the 2 tries that we had disallowed. Despite this, we were up and on our way, one out of one!

Our second game saw us take on Alton and a convincing 10-7 win was fought out with some incredible defence, at times forcing the opposition back the entire length of the pitch as they tried to find space. Tom Martin took his try tally for the tournament to 8 in just 2 games. Ted Jerges and Eddie Ragg showed some nifty footwork and real turn of pace as they each collected 2 tries. Monty Burr was a rock in support and collected a try for his efforts with some great positional play and Harvey-Ray Catton-Strugnell and Henry Watts also got their names on the score sheet. George Jobber was a rock in defence, making a real nuisance of himself as phase after phase of the oppositions attack was held back.

2 games played, 20 tries scored and 2 victories under our belt, our confidence was building as we came to our 3rd and final pool game.

A feature of our game as we progressed through the tournament was our defence and it was used to great advantage in this game as no quarter was given to the team that were previously the tournament favourites - Petersfield.

By the end of the game we almost felt sorry for our opposition as they were constantly pinned back in their half and harangued into making mistakes. Harvey-Ray was once again heroic in his defence as was George, they both really stood out as they sought out the opposition at every opportunity. With the close attention of Harvey-Ray and George forcing them into errors, the rest of the team were able to take full advantage coming home 10-5 winners, Tom Martin continued his impressive try scoring with another 3 tries, Ted Jerges and Henry Watts each scored 2 and George Jobber, Harvey-Ray Catton-Strugnell and Marcus Mansfield all scored one.

With 3 wins out of 3 we were convinced we were in the final but no it seemed not. By some strange process of points evaluation we were still somehow on even points with Gosport & Fareham - even though we remained the only unbeaten team in the tournament! After all the hard work the boys had put in, the coaches were adamant that our place in the final would not be decided on the toss of a coin and so we elected to a take our chances in a play off against Gosport & Fareham 1's.

By the end of the 12 minutes of play I think our opponents rather wished they had pushed for the toss of a coin as they ran out losers by a comfortable 15-9. Defence was once again a potent weapon as we relentlessly marched our opponents back every time they tried to get any pace on the game. In attack, we were precise and potent - every time we got our hands on the ball we came away with a try..... 7 of them falling to Harvey-Ray, 4 to Tom, 3 to Ted and 1 to Monty.

And so, after a rather unexpected 4th game, our boys were at last in the final, against a pumped up Alton.

The coaches decided to go with a full rotation of the squad throughout the game in the final, ensuring that not only did everyone get to play their part in a tournament final but that we also made the most of the energy levels of the whole team - after 48 minutes of really competitive rugby, we were starting to fade.

Despite the flagging energy levels we came out winners - Tom Martin made sure he put his stamp on the game and came away with an impressive 5 tries, Harvey-Ray bagged 3 Ted 2 and Henry, Eddie, Marcus and Monty each scored 1. Seven of the eight squad members all scored in a close 14-12 victory - a real team effort - and WE HAD WON!

5 games played, 5 games won and an impressive 59 tries scored was indeed a great mornings work but most impressive of all was the spirit in which the boys played every single minute of every single game.

I know I will speak for all the coaches when I say how incredibly proud we were of the boys. The sportsmanship, the team spirit, the passion and the fight in them was a wonder to watch. They knew every letter of every rule and they kept to them, keeping their heads even when decisions did not go their way. They defended with passion and pride and they attacked at every opportunity - always supporting their team mates.

By far the most impressive thing for me though was in the final when every player was called upon to play. Each and every one of them played their hearts out for their team mates and not once did any one of them utter a word of disappointment as they were substituted to make way for their replacement on the pitch - they truly were one team!

All in all it was an incredible experience and the 8 boys who made up the Pulborough U7 1 team did themselves, their parents, their coaches and club proud. Well done to Tom Martin, Ted Jerges, Marcus Mansfield, Eddie Ragg, George Jobber, Henry Watts, Monty Burr and Harvey-Ray Catton-Strugnell!

Pulborough RFC

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